What are teens hoping to feel when they self-harm?

This study has made an important contribution to an under-researched aspect of self-harm, although it leaves many questions unanswered. For instance, one explanation for the more frequent self-harming observed among those who say they self-harm because they want to experience pain, is that the act triggers pain-relief mechanisms in the brain - a form of euphoria. And yet, self-harming was less frequent among those who said they self-harmed for satisfaction. This potential contradiction could be due to vagueness in the meanings of the words used - is the pursuit of euphoria (via pain) different from the pursuit of satisfaction? Such ambiguities will have to be addressed by future research.Despite this, and the small sample size, Selby and his team said their novel findings already have clinical implications. "If alternative healthy behaviours can be identified that might induce a similar reinforcing sensation, then those healthy behaviours may be able to be harnessed as a more effective alternative to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI)," they concluded. "For example if one purpose of NSSI is to derive pain, then exercise might function as an effective alternative as moderate levels of exercise might have a similarly painful or distracting effect that can help cope with upsetting emotions."_________________________________ Edward A. Selby, Matthew K. Nock, and Amy Kranzler (2013). How Does Self-Injury Feel? Examining Automatic Positive Reinforcement in Adolescent Self-Injurers wi...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Source Type: blogs